Business Shipping

Draft for shipping policy in the offing

Hiran H. Senewiratne

The Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers Association is working with the Organisation of Professionals Association of Sri Lanka (OPA) to draft a shipping policy for Sri Lanka.

The new policy document will officially release before the end of this year. The policy will emphasise 10 priority areas to be developed in the shipping industry, President of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers Maxwell de Silva told the Daily News Business.

He said that once this policy plan comes into force the entire shipping industry would be free from undue political interferences as in developed countries in the world.

This topic was widely discussed in the annual sessions of the OPA in last September and the policy document, will likely to be officially launched at the end of this year.

The areas that are going to be focusing on the new policy would be ship owning, banking and finance in the ship industry, condemning ships and building, ship brokering, he said.

De Silva said that one of the priority areas is encouraging banks to recognised ships as collateral for ship owners to obtain loans is an important area to be looked at in the policy.

The development of the national carriers, Ceylon Shipping Line is one of the priority areas and that have been neglected for a considerable period.

Further, new policy will be focusing ship management and ship agency matters.

De Silva said that currently all development projects such as Colombo South Harbour projects, Hambantota port project are making slow progress.

With the new shipping policy the progress of the entire sector will be on fast track and that would enable to promote Colombo Port as the hub in the region.

Karunanidhi hits out at BJP, AIADMK for opposing Setu project

Launching a broadside against the BJP and the AIADMK for opposing the demolition of Ram Setu, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said it was the NDA government, which approved the present sixth alignment for the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.

“Why didn’t they raise the issue of Ram Setu when they approved the project in 2002? Would they have talked about Ram Setu if the project had been implemented during their tenure itself,” he asked in a statement here.

Detailing various feasibility studies undertaken for the project since 1955, he said there was not an iota of doubt about the technical feasibility of the Sethusamudram project.

PTI

Transit facility to carry heavy consignments sought

India has sought a special transit facility for transportation of heavy consignments of power generation equipment from Kolkata port to Pallatana in Tripura state via Bangladesh, a report said here today.

The Indian High Commission last month had requested for transportation of the machinery in line with the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) between the two countries, the New Age newspaper said quoting foreign ministry sources.

The officials could not be reached immediately for comments but the report added that the ministry thought the transportation of goods from one part of India to another part through Bangladesh was beyond the scope and mandate of the PIWTT. The PIWTT does not allow multi-modal transport facilities ...

But focuses on inland water transit aspects of the bilateral treaty between India and Bangladesh, it said quoting a foreign ministry observation. India has reportedly proposed the route for transportation of the equipment in the first leg from Kolkata port to Ashuganj (Bangladesh) by waterway covering a distance of 854 km, and then from Ashuganj to Akhaura by road for 65 km and finally from Akhaura to Pallatana (India) by road for 60 km.

The report, however, said the foreign ministry sent the Indian proposal to shipping and communications ministries separately in September to get their opinion with its observations PTI

John Keells Vision Project to continue into 2008

The ability to see the world through one’s eyes is one of the most amazing experiences that the sighted population often takes for granted. Yet, the impact of being able to see for those who have lost their vision due to various reasons is immeasurable. They are able to contribute to the well-being of their families and become fulfilled members of society once more.

Keeping this in mind, the John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation (the CSR arm of the John Keells Group) announced the extension of their successful ‘John Keells Vision Project’ into the years 2007/08. The project, which will look to complete an aggregate of 2,000 cataract operations, will also feature eye camps in remote locations around the country.

The John Keells Vision Project is primarily an island-wide cataract operation project aligned with the World Health Organisation’s “Vision 2020” Project and launched for the benefit of deserving, disadvantaged or needy persons across Sri Lanka.

Originally launched as `John Keells Vision 1000’ in 2004/05, the initial target was to restore the eyesight of 1,000 needy cataract patients throughout Sri Lanka.

With 1,590 cataract operations completed to date, the Vision Project will look to expand in the coming year as it operates under the revised name, `John Keells Vision 2000’, reflecting the number of operations it aims to complete by the end of 2008.

Speaking about the John Keells Vision 2000 Project, Manager, John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation Carmeline Jayasuriya said, “Cataract is one of the primary causes of blindness in the country, but 95 per cent of patients can be cured through surgery.